Yuvraj Singh Said "I Am Making You Ready For India": Abhishek Sharma Shares Inspirational Story
When Yuvraj Singh took Abhishek Sharma under his wing, he already had a plan in place for the young batter.
When Yuvraj Singh took Abhishek Sharma under his wing, he already had a plan in place for the young batter. A match-winner himself, having played a key role in India's 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup campaigns, Yuvraj wanted nothing but the best for his disciple. Speaking on 'Breakfast with Champions', Abhishek revealed how training under Yuvraj during the lockdown helped him improve his batting technique. The 25-year-old revealed how Yuvraj, back then, predicted that he would be winning games for India very soon. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Abhishek was the Player of the Tournament recently as India won the Asia Cup. He ended the season as the highest scorer with 314 runs in seven matches.
"I am very grateful. During the lockdown we would have camps at his place. Me, Shubman, Prabhsimran, Anmolpreet. Basically I needed it. We were going on a flight and I asked him if we could have a camp for a few days. He told yes right away. I was struggling a bit at that time, honestly," said Abhishek.
Abhishek also recalled how he was struggling to get into the playing XI of his IPL side, while his peers, including Shubman Gill, had already started playing for India.
"I was not consistent in the IPL and I was not even in the playing XI. Shubman was already playing for India. I started feeling that I was behind, as people from my age group were doing well already. We were having lunch at his place and paaji told me straight away that he was not preparing me for the state or the IPL or even to get a cap for India. He told me I am making you ready to win games for India. Write this, and it will happen in the next two to three years. After that camp, I realized my goal is something else," he added.
The southpaw revealed how Yuvraj would analyse his batting by watching videos and taking notes, which helped him improve his technique and power-hitting.
"He would sit at home and watch our videos, make notes from it, and then take screenshots from different videos to compare before and after. No one knows Yuvi paaji goes into this much detailing. And while we are practicing for over five hours, he will be there with us throughout," he said.
India Cricket Team
Yuvraj Singh